Jasmine’s death in custody: It tarnished the image of country, govt, Rab

Rab Director General M Khurshid Hossain has said Jasmine's "murder" in Naogaon has tarnished the image of the country, the government and the force.

He also said "the thing was done from the (local) camp; the battalion or the headquarters knew nothing about it".

The minutes of a meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on the home ministry quote the Rab chief as making the remarks.

The meeting was held on April 4, and its minutes were approved at another meeting of the JS  body yesterday.

According to the meeting minutes, the Rab DG said, "The organisation [Rab] will not bear the responsibility of any person, regardless of who committed the crime in this incident. The government will not take any responsibility. Appropriate legal action will be taken no matter who the culprits are."

The Daily Star has a copy of the minutes.

Sultana Jasmine, 38, a land office employee in Naogaon, died at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) on March 24 while in Rab custody.

Rab officers told the doctors that Jasmine had suffered a fall.

Rab-5 picked her up on March 22 when she was on her way to Chandipur Union Land Office where she was an office assistant.

A day after her detention, she was sued under the Digital Security Act in Rajshahi "for syphoning off money from job seekers using a Facebook account".

Her son Shahed Hossain Saikat, a student of Chattogram University, had then said, "She died due to torture in Rab custody. She has an injury mark on her head." Family members had also said she was in perfect health.

RMCH Director Brig Gen FM Shamim Ahmed had said Jasmine was brought in by a Rab team in a critical condition. A CT scan found multiple intracranial bleeds in her head.

Enamul Haque, the local government director of Rajshahi divisional commissioner's office, filed a DSA case with Rajpara Police Station in Rajshahi cityagainst Jasmine.

The case was recorded more than 31 hours after Jasmine had been picked up by Rab and when she was unresponsive in a hospital bed.

Enamul alleged that he had been receiving complaints from people who were defrauded through his Facebook account, which was hacked in 2017. This continued when he was serving in Natore, Chapainawabganj, and Rajshahi.

He said he filed general diaries with police stations in Natore and Chapainawabganj. After joining Rajshahi divisional office in November last year, he sought Rab's help after receiving similar complaints.

According to the meeting minutes, Rab DG M Khurshid Hossain said, "The joint secretary [Enamul Haque] whose name came up .... his Facebook ID was used to harass him. Two years ago, he filed two general diaries against the woman [Jasmine]."

At that, Awami League lawmaker Benajir Ahmed, chairman of the committee, said it's already an embarrassing situation because of the sanctions imposed on Rab.

"If two GDs had been filed before, they should have been resolved. If everyone had carried out their respective duties at the right time, no problems would have arisen," he added.

The committee chief advised everyone to be more responsible.

After the discussion, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said appropriate measures will be taken regarding the Naogaon incident.

Gonoforum lawmaker Sultan Mohammad Mansur, also a member of the JS watchdog, told the meeting that the issue of Jasmine Sultana is very embarrassing.

Referring to Jasmine's death, Jatiya Party MP Pir Fazlur Rahman, another member of the committee, said, "Rab's senior officials may be sincere but excesses are seen at the field level. How could this happen? Such incidents are overshadowing many of the government's achievements."

Contacted, Rab DG M Khurshid Hossain said he would not make any comments and advised this correspondent to talk to the director of the Rab's legal and media wing.

Commander Khandaker Al Moin, director of the legal and media wing, said a high-powered committee is investigating the incident on instructions from the High Court.

The committee will probe whether anyone in Rab was involved in this incident. And the court will give instructions about the next course of action.

"We have no scope to comment on this matter at this stage of investigation," he also said.

Asked about the comments of the Rab DG as were in the meeting minutes, he said the "officer who has noted down the comments might have made a mistake".